What I don't get from ABC is that they only have Desperate HW and Ugly Betty Available on Comcast On-Demand. I've been watching the MLB playoffs, especially because my team is in the World Series. I would like to check out Modern Family, V and Flash Forward and I am not a big fan of watching TV on the internet. CBS and NBC have a lot of their new shows available On Demand.

And wowzers on that rating, didn't think it'd be that high given they haven't really advertised it much outside of abc. I mean, I saw ads for Grey's Anatomy EVERYWHERE leading up to it's premiere, but for V? If those wrecks at the end of Sunday's Nascar race hadn't got my attention when I was channel surfing, I wouldn't have caught my first and only commercial for this show.

I was really suprised. I had never seen the original to be honest but this one was well done for a pilot. I already think its better then flash forward. But again this is coming from someone who never watched the original so doesn't know much about the story ahead of time. I hope it gets picked up past the first 4 episodes.

It felt like four episodes of television crammed into one, and would have been much more effective if the pilot had at least been fleshed out into a 2-hour premiere, but overall, it was better than most shows, and leagues better than FlashForward on all counts. I'll be watching the next few eps, I just hope they aren't all so rushed.

V felt like a two hour pilot crammed into an hour. Also, if I remember the original (and it's been a while) it took them a good time before they actually established an organized resistance against the Visitors and in this one it took about forty four minutes. I'm going to check the next episode but if that one doesn't grab me I may just stick with My DVD's of BSG.

Long time fan of the original '83 "V" miniseries here. Almost as big a deal to me as "Star Wars", and I jest not. <p> <p> Anyway: the new one. Too rushed, by far. The entire original four-hour miniseries is condensed into 45 minutes. There was absolutely no sense of the astonishment, dread, hope, euphoria and trepidation that the original spent a good hour or so building up, making it really feel (even if you watch it today) that this was a truly global event. <p> <p> Second - what can I say? Yes, the original got a bit heavy-handed at times, but I still find it, in parts, truly chilling how the Visitors inveigle themselves into human life and slowly but surely mount a complete fascist takeover. <p> <p> BUT - I get it. It's a different time now. Instead of the whole Nazi allegory, they're going for a very 21st century tack. Sleeper cells, the enemy within. The search for faith and something to believe in. <p> <p> Put simply, I think this could and should be a very cool alien invasion show with bad guys that just happen to be called "Visitors". It isn't really "V". It's got potential, but it did feel entirely too rushed, and like the whole thing was happening JUST in NYC. <p> <p> Here's hoping, for me, that we see those fascist-ass jackboots declaring martial law "for our own good". And pissing away the whole title on a nickname for the aliens, kids running round "tagging" big red "v's" in support of them --- I hope that becomes a plot point, and the big red "V" is re-appropriated by the Resistance to stand for VICTORY. <p> <p> Plus, Morena Baccarin is hot. But Jane Badler, she is not! <p> <p> A botched pilot, with a couple of great bits. By no means great, but there's groundwork for good shit here. But it ain't the real "V".

... any of guys read (original "V" creator) Kenneth Johnson's novel of "V: The Second Generation"? His 'intended' sequel to his original miniseries (an alternate follow-up to 'The Final Battle')? Fucking awful. I'd love for the new "V" to be a real, gritty continuation of the original. Imagine a series OPENING in a world completely taken over by fascist lizard alien fuckers, where the majority of humanity STILL believes they're acting in our best interests. But as much as I'd love to see that, the effort from the originator of the whole thing was piss-poor, and there's not denying it. <p> <p> I find it a little bit almost sad that Kenny Johnson - and believe me, I'm a huge huge fan of his original work on the original miniseries - maintains that, if this new redux is a success, it'll give him more leverage to make the 'true' sequel. It won't. <p> <p> Then again, Bryan Singer's sequelizing/rebooting the 'original' Galactica... so who the fuck knows. <p> <p> And anyway, I'm drunk.

That car bit was the funniest and most entertaining part of the show. Make that the only funny and entertaining part of the show. On a side note Sons of Anarchy deserves better numbers. That show rocks.

... there was nothing in the new one that stood out as stirring, chilling, anything like that. <p> <p> Some great moments in that first miniseries, where the Visitors are becoming part of society and set about working "together" with humans. <p> <p> Mr Beastmaster Marc Singer and his buddy filming as they land in a shuttlecraft to start work at a processing plant and those red suits and black boots just keep on coming, and coming, and coming... <p> <p> "God, Mike.... how many of them ARE they?" - that was good shit. <p> <p> Even the whole "first contact" thing was built up for a whole hour. It didn't shoot it's wad before the opening credits. A real sense of wonder was established. <p> <p> Like I said, totally different show. Same name.

obviously it was waaaaay too rushed, but maybe we'll see the time we jumped through in flashbacks as the show progresses.. Also it would be great to widen the scope to other cities, and tell an EPIC story that covers numerous resistance cells...

From what I understand there is only three more episodes in the can and they have been writing most of the summer and fall while losing a showrunner. I get the feeling ABC will option for me, but don't accept anymore til March at best. I said earlier I expect a good number from last night, but we will see. The whole "They are Among Us" screams BSG cyclones to me.

it's not like the basis for doing that sort of thing wasn't in the original tv show,(the series- when they stopped using fx on the voices, not the mini) So in V, it's not a major deviation from the original like it was in BSG...

I know the reason I watched LENO last night was because BIGGEST LOSER's Tracey was on it right after she was kicked off the show. NBC should just become THE BIGGEST LOSER network and have 5-7 seasons running at one time. It would help a lot of fat people and equal big ratings every night for NBC.

Really enjoyed the pilot episode and can't wait for more.
If you missed it is free on iTunes but you will have to dig. I had to watch it that way because the Nashville, TN affiliate (WKRN) scheduled another show in the time slot.

V was alright It has potential. Indeed they did crap *everything* in on the first episode didn't they?<BR><BR> I am hoping this means that they are going to do alot more with the subplots , like the kid who goes and joins the hitler jungen, etc. The original series kept that plot going for a little while at least.<BR><BR> It wasn't awful. I enjoyed it more than Heroes, which I guess isn't saying much.<BR><BR> I do think getting the "they're lizards" part out of the way fast was the right call... everyone knows anyway... it wouldn't have any dramatic effect. I do hope someone eats a mouse pretty soon though. :)
<BR><BR>
I'll keep watching... I do like the priest. Was sad that Wash turned out to be a baddy, though it as effective... I never saw that coming.

Man Im right there with you on the original being up there with Star Wars. ABC pressured the new series to produce too much in too little time and we went from discovering other intelligent beings in the galaxy to they have a visitor hospital on every corner in 45 minutes.
You definitely dont get the same scope the old series managed to achieve with everyone tuned into their tv sets watching things unfold. The original series just had this unending sense of dread and nowhere to run that I feel this series wont even come close to touching. Plus I just absolutely hate the whole aliens among us and we cant tell who they are from other humans, thats just lazy writing.
Oh and the second generation by kenneth johnson was a HUGE dissapointment to me as well. I feel like he just rehashed some of the original ideas and I bet he thought he was being bold by having gay alien and human relationships. Did not like it one bit.

agina! umm it was very plastic. no real characters yet. very wooden acting. the ship and shuttles looked lame. the lizard skin was good though. i'll watch it though,cuz i like me some alien shows,although invasion was much,much better. peace

I agree with all that the premier was good but should've been tretched over two hours. Things I disliked are:
1) "V's" or the aliens even introducing themselves as visitors. Humans called them visitors in the original and they just took on the name. V as mentioned by some one else stood for "Victory" by the resistance.
2) Should've been spread out over at least two hours or been a complete miniseries by itself.
3) That annoying Dollhouse fuck is in this and plays basically the same character! Typecast?
4) Giant TV on bottom of ship blew all suspense. It should've been a lone shuttlecraft descending to earth that lead to our first contact like in the original.
5) I really hate that the resistance is already so far along AND they know about the Visitors secret already. I would have liked to see the moment the resistance guy learned the truth instead.
6) If you just killed an alien and saw hints of them having fake skin, wouldn't you just rip the whole face off to satisfy your curiosity? I hope the series doesn't break down to small lesions in the human disguises giving way to hints of lizard. Lets see the whole face dammit!
7) The preview for next week has me concerned. Did I just see a haman fucking some snakes or perhaps giving birth to them? We do not need another Alien ripoff where humans serve as hosts to alien offspring. The visitors are supposed to be abducting the humans for use as food remember?

Because I thought it was full of more than it's share of cheese (and that's coming from a fan of the original series). I liked the new take on it. As long as you are going to remake something like "V" give it a fresh contemporary feel I say. The new "V" didn't blow me away with it's writing but there was some nice stuff in there (I liked the line about rattlesnake's being "God's creatures). I hope they can at least make it through 8 episodes and have a complete story arc.

It has a strong premise, a good cast, nice fx and production values, and for once, lighting and music that doesn't get in the way. Unfortunatley, the writing is killing any chance it has of doing well.<BR><BR>
The dialog is beyond horrible. So much so that it's making the actors look bad (though to be fair, they're not necessarly doing the best they can with what they're given). That's the kind of dialog you'd expect from a kid writing his first screenplay... unnatural, lacking intelligence, riddled with cliches, wordy/explaing every last detail etc<BR><BR>
The pacing, as just about everyone has commented, is bewilderingly bad. It's hard to tell who's at fault here but I can't even imagine what they were thinking cramming all that into one hour. Making a fast paced, exciting show doesn't mean "move the story along quickly."<BR><BR>
Related to the pacing, they really need to give some serious thought about what characters, themes and plot lines are important as well as determine when and how each story is going to unfold. There was an awful lot of unnecessary, unwanted garbage in the pilot. Also, in a series like V, it would be much better to hold off telling the viewer about relationships, backgrounds, motivations etc until absolutely necessary and instead let the plot force that information out. What the viewer doesn't know can be used as a small "pull" to string the viewer along from point to point. Plus, this way the viewer's rewarded when they realize why things are the way they are.<BR><BR>
While I don't think I'd categorize the directing as horrible per-se, neither do I think it's taking advantage of situations to heighten the moment. It's mostly just... bland/servicable. Also, extras aren't used effectively. Any scene with a large number of them is distracting because it's so obviously staged/fake. And I'd expect the director to do a better job getting better performances out of the actors. There are some weak actors in there but the main actors are all experienced and capable. Hands off directing is one thing, letting a questionable performance air is another.<BR><BR>
While I can't say I enjoyed the pilot, I do want V to succeed and hope the new show runners do a better job with the show. And I hope they're not going to be content using all the same story ideas from the 80's series and instead take big chances, inject some intelligence into the series and take us in completely new directions... and hopefully they won't resort to using stupid plot gimmicks like "24".

I do not think there was any pretense about the original effort (if I can call it that): it was cheesy and knew it. (Well I thought so at the time.) And there was more intellectual honesty offered by Mars Attacks!<p>
I have to admit that seeing Morena Baccarin on the galaxy's biggest HDTV was impressive. And my sympathies to Elizabeth Mitchell. I think I shed a tear as she sank into the tar pit that is the hackneyed plot of V.<p>
Want to see a more interesting take on what V tries to do? Find Rod Serling's "To Serve Man". At least in that story I was rooting for the people of Earth.<p>
Is it wrong that I may watch a few more episodes? If Lost will not serve up Elizabeth Mitchell I have to take the opportunity ABC offers. And since Dollhouse appears doomed then here is an opportunity to watch Alan Tudyk do his thing.

I was disappointed ... it felt rushed and awkward. It's trying to use the "oh no they're among us" paranoia (which just doesn't resonate with me at all) and a big shock and awe event (with no before-and-after context shown). I just don't get what it's about - other than reptilian kitten eaters - there doesn't seem to be an allegory (which is what made the original so strong - although campy, there was an undercurrent of a serious study of the anthropology of resistance, whereas the remake feels like the writers have only studied tv cliches, not history or humanity).

The single WORST allegory since Prozium from Equilibrium.
<p>This was a total mess that uses prior knowledge of the '80s series as a crutch for poor storytelling. Pacing was terrible. The genius of the original V was the four-hour miniseries format which allowed a huge amount of time for the story to develop -- the total takeover of the Visitors was a slow creep.
<p>Here, the Visitors ('Vs' LOL) still talk of utopia but they just kind of hang around and look fake-serene. The menace of the original show was borne from the Leader Guy saying "We'll cure cancer" and then a bunch of alien SS dudes line up behind him. The "menace" of this version is an awkward pre-interview & that blond douche from Dollhouse gleefully beating up yet another woman.
<p>Finally, our resistance heroes are David Icke/Alex Jones types? REALLY, ABC?

If no one had seen the original mini series then they could pace it better, but everyone already knows the story. Everyone already knows they're lizards and they want to eat us. How can they build much suspense when most of the people who tune in most likely have seen the original (SYFY even broadcast the originals before it premiered). I do agree it has it's faults. I also agree they crammed the pilot with a lot of stuff but I think the show has potential. For the guy who said they ripped off a bunch of other sci fi shows and then praised BSG. Don't get me wrong I love BSG but it's nothing more than a mishmash of Starblazers, Terminator, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Just sayin

...and this was a pretty lame disappointment, it seems like they just can't make 'em like they used to. as everyone has pointed out, no sense of dread, no buildup, no mystery... I feel embarrassed and stupid for watching this. oh, and the son character... godawful, couldn't they have at least found someone a little less doughboy for that? seriously, what a waste. we knew it was coming but... this sucks.

I rarely critique on this kinda level, but this show is horrendous.
The obvious political message is hilarious. People worshiping the aliens because they are attractive and say all the right things? The alien's powerful weapon is "Devotion"? If these sound familiar it's because it's what the Republicans, Rush, and (pretty much) the entire FOX broadcast entity where saying about Obama during the entire presidential campaign.
... and if the "universal healthcare" didn't tip you off, then I dunno what to tell you.
Then again, I've hated worse shows that went on to be successful (Heroes comes to mind), so don't go by my opinion lol

as stated, the original commented on facism. is this one going to comment on "marxism"? after all, isn't that what Obama is accused of being? if ever I wanted to sue for an hour of my life being stolen ...

...personally I think having buildings in the new V is downright ridiculous! I mean, rabble rabble whine whine, it's such an obvious wink to our own... buildings! And how about those plants eh!? That's not horrendous, that's you not being able to suspend disbelief.

The idea of devotion in the V universe was done in the original miniseries. Blind Devotion to any type of authoritative government is very fascist. Hitler used the mythology of the Aryan race to build up his devotion. What people call Obama just shows the ignorance of the general population. While the general population often confuses MARXISM and FASCISM they are very different. I'm sure the term "universal healthcare" was nothing more than an attempt to be contemporary rather than a comment on Obama. People often see the term "universal healthcare" as a type of Utopian answer to the healthcare problems of the nation. I think they're nailing the elements of a fascists authorative government very well. I agree the pilot was rushed and has flaws but I think part of the problem is what I've stated before which is the idea the story of V was already told and the big secrets of it are already known. I think it has potential to be an ongoing series because resistance movements usually take several years to develop and succeed. I'm not saying it's the best show on tv but there is no way it is the worst.

...that the show has a different political perspective than most other TV shows, and that means it is going to suck? Talk about intolerance. I don't agree with the commentary of The Big Lebowski, and thus don't enjoy it, but it is still well made. Regardless, on The 4400, the ideas/commentary came from the situations the characters were in. Tom and Diana weren't amazing characters, but their inner struggles were identifiable. Finally, who said the Vs are bad? So they're actually lizards and had a lot of C4, ok? I anticipate a lot of line blurring between the Pro-Vs and Anti-Vs lines and right/wrong the way there was surrounding the Promicin debate in The 4400.

Its been said MANY TIMES already - the pilot felt rushed to me. I'm also a veteran of the original "V" mini-series. I do like the "V" sleeper cell idea. That premise alone makes me wanna tune-in to the next episodes. Anna played by Monica Baccarin was an excellent choice. She's obviously not human but so attractive you can't help taking your eyes off her ^_^

I would have liked to see some of it reused in the new show. Like, just after Anna has done her (very similar to the origina) "and then we'll leave you in peace" speech.
<p>
"Talk about an offer we can't refuse."
<br>
BEAT<br>
"I wonder what would happen if we tried."
<p>
They could have given those lines to the priests, easily. It would have worked.

As a said, the ABC staff was so concerned about the Obama parallels is the reason for the 're-tooling'. When the show returns next year, the American public will suddenly stop being brainwashed so easily by the Vs, the media will magically start asking tough questions and not be afraid to put the Vs in a bad light, the health care angle will disapear and the Glenn Beck conspiracy character will really go nuts and be written off.

Here's how it goes: <p>Somehow the aliens teleport all the hot chicks in NY and send them to Miami, with the only man in the city left is Horatio Caine. Elizabeth Mitchell will need to be in a special alien bikini all the time and if she tries to cover herself up in any way, she'll die. And the alien spokesperson Baccarin will reveal that she has a lesbian lover, Evangeline Lilly. And they both need to have a threesome with Elizabeth Mitchell for the sake of humanity's survival. <p>
The part of Baccarin is played by Sasha Grey, Evangeline Lilly played by Jenni Lee, Elizabeth Mitchell played by Rebeca Linares, Horatio played by Julian Andretti.
<p>Money in the bank, I tell you.... money in the bank.

Truly, TRULY woeful. And man, that clunky dialogue!! I've not heard the like since Falcon Crest. Loved Juliet, great to see Alan Tudyk, and Morena Baccarin really does look and act like an alien. Everything else sucked very very hard.

If the pilot had at least an extra hour, it probably would have been fine, but cramming the Visitors arrival, assimilation into Earth society and the beginning of a resistance into a single hour was just crazy thinking on someone's part. Hopefully, now that the setup of the premise is done, the second episode will slow down the pacing a bit so we can savor the storyline more.

The 'V' concept is inherantly political. The problem is the clunky writing. It's at the same level as something that promises to be a hard-hitting look at the politics of Michael Moore but turns out to be 90 minutes of fat slob jokes.

Seriously just boring and bad, without a single interesting character. Everything about this production just rubbed me the wrong way. And Elizabeth Mitchell is seriously starting to annoy and bore the hell out of me as an actress. She plays everything like she's stoned on quaaludes.

V like the 4400 is pretty decent and watchable sci fi. Is it instant classic? No. Is it as relevant as it wants to be? No. Is it cutting edge anything? No. And yet, the first episode was pretty good, and I look forward to seeing the rest of it.

The first contact and arrival was too glossed over. I wanted to see a real humane reaction to alien contact, and it wasn't there this time. I did however believe they upped the quality of the acting talent this time around (Ironside and Singer aside) the first was filled with Daytime Soap level talent. Writing aside from abbreviating the start too much was alright. I wasn't expecting anything as good as Lost's "The Constant" or BSG's second season finale, but I like where they are going with things.

Personally, I'd rather see a re-make (reboot... whatever you call it) or continuation of Alien Nation rather than V. Although I don't think Alien Nation would work on a major network considering how many cop dramas already exist.
Anyway, V won't work at this rate, they have to put some effort into it if they want to give us a reason to watch it.

I fucking hate this. Which fucktard came up with this 'hip, new angle' <br> I miss the red uniforms and the strong swastika like logo the Visitors had in the original. Also the new ship designs are dogshit. Don't mind the interiors though and liked the enemy within approach despite it being done to death in other shows.

I dug the the V. I love the way they got down to it.Everyone is aware of what the visitors are, so what's the point in trying to drag that out. Get right into the resistance because that is the interesting stuff anyway.The best new show out there. Stargate universe sucks donkey balls.Please just end anything stargate related-what a waste of an idea-yuck.Actually end anything syfy related.Gawd I hate that channel

Reading these comments, I guess the show does make more sense if I look at it as American right-vs-left propaganda ... casting anyone who promises to make your life better being an evil creature underneath.<BR><BR>I wonder if you could pull off a double-cross on the audience: have the visitors actually turn out to have been sincere and honest all along, but just rubbing a few people the wrong way by pushing peoples' paranoia buttons (complete opposite of the original series premise). Ah well, I guess they kinda blew that idea out of the water by having an alien attack on a proto-resistance cell right away.

"casting anyone who promises to make your life better being an evil creature underneath."<p>
Well, that's generally a true statement. I don't mind the political slant; it's science fiction, part of the interest is seeing current issues in exaggerated settings. It's not like there has been a shortage of recent dramatic critique pointed the other way.

<p>It was more enjoyable than either the Flash Forward or Fringe pilots, but that's not saying too much. Given how much retooling has been going on, there's no way of judging how this show will turn out. Mitchell and Baccarin were alright, but the original V started better. And can we please stop calling them the Vees? It's fucking gay.</p>
<p>I'm not too sure what these Obama parallels are suppose to be. I didn't get that vibe. Universal health care has been in our lexicon long before Obama, nor did he invent the concept of a cult of personality. But if that's a reason for the retooling, than that's just as bad as the Party of Five midget giving Anna that softball interview. If they're retooling the show over it, then they've truly made the connection that they were seeking to avoid. And doesn't TV slant liberal enough already? It's really missing the whole point of a fascist allegory.</p>

totally loved the different feel of this version - less Earth: Final Conflict and more They Live... <p>
most of the old elements were put into place nicely - the new Willie was especially cool and I'm glad to see they're keeping the Fifth Column subplot. No Ham Tyler tho - considering this is supposed to be an ongoing series, not a miniseries, I sure hope he makes an appearance!

And I'm not saying that just because I like her looks. She captures the alien vibe.
<P>
As for the show itself: Pick up the pace and structure so that there is subtext to maintain viewer interest while characters are going through motions.
<P>
People criticize "Law and Order." But there is a reason that those series have lasted for years: they engage. Each episode has enough drama, plot, characterization to sustain a novel. Lamo-feeb sci-fi shows foolishly rely on glitzy sets to hold audience attention.

maybe some peeps haven't seen the original so lemme clue you in - HUMANS ARE CATTLE to the lizards - and nobody wants to eat sick beef.. <p>
maybe I'm just not getting the "political" overtones there, seeing as I'm not American and all?